From a press release issued by Infineon Raceway:
Construction Crews Begin Work on Turns 1, 6 of Road Course at Infineon Raceway
SONOMA, Calif. (IMMEDIATE RELEASE) – Competitor safety continues to be the central theme at Infineon Raceway as crews begin work this week on two areas of the twisting road course.
The bridges at Turns 1 and 6 (Carousel) will be removed, and the adjoining hillsides will be graded back to create additional runoff for both racecars and motorcycles. Once the grading is complete, new bridges will be installed, with the Turn 1 bridge being moved west toward Turn 2 by approximately 100 feet.
Although this portion of the project has been planned for several years, it entails the demolition of the raceway’s original wastewater treatment facility, work that could not be performed prior to activating the track’s new waste water facilities earlier this year.
Crews remove the bridge at Turn 1 in advance of grading the hillside at Infineon Raceway. Photo by Jon Patten.
This latest $2 million project is part of Infineon Raceway’s comprehensive three-year modernization plan, which began in 2000 and is near completion. Much of the $60 million project has focused on competitor safety and has included:
1. Additional runoff at virtually every turn on the road course.
2. Repaving of the entire road course.
3. Creation of a new pit road that accommodates a 43-car starting grid.
4. Permanent separation of the road course from the quarter-mile drag strip.
The grading of the hillside at Turn 1 will give competitors approximately 130 feet of runoff, which is 100 more than they currently have. Moreover, the bridge abutment at Turn 1 should no longer be a factor once the new bridge is built and positioned 100 feet up the track.
“This is a long-awaited piece of the overall track improvement puzzle and it’s terrific to see that work actually under way,” said Steve Page, president and general manager of Infineon Raceway.
An additional 80 feet of runoff will be created at Turn 6 by grading the hillside. The new bridge will be positioned in the same spot, overlooking the Carousel, but will obviously be much longer, taking the abutment out of play.
The safety enhancements will aid every form of racing at Infineon Raceway, including NASCAR, American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Superbikes and American Le Mans Series sports cars.
“Competitor safety will increase immensely once we are done with this project,” said Jere Starks, vice president of facilities at Infineon Raceway. “The runoff at Turn 1 has been a major point of contention, especially by riders on the AMA circuit. I believe they will be pleased, as will the other sanctioning bodies, when they return to the raceway.”
This marks the second major off-season project at Infineon Raceway as the road course was repaved in August. As part of the repaving, more than 3,000 feet of French Edge Drains were installed to keep water from draining under the track surface – the raceway is just 15 feet above sea level. Curbing was also added at Turns 2, 6, 8 and 10. Portions of the road course that were repaved included Turns 1-3, 6-8 and 11. Turns 4-5, 9-10, 12 and the Chute were repaved prior to the 2003 season.